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Tao named chief of pediatric radiology

Also becomes radiologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital

by Kristina SauerweinJuly 23, 2021

Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

Ting Y. Tao, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named chief of the pediatric radiology section in the university’s Department of Radiology. She began her new position July 1.

Tao also has assumed the role of radiologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

“We are delighted that Dr. Tao will be leading the pediatric radiology section,” said Richard L. Wahl, MD, the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor, head of the Department of Radiology and director of Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR). “With her background and experience, she is an outstanding choice for this important academic leadership role. Dr. Tao has extensive clinical and educational experience at children’s hospitals. We were most impressed by her commitment to growing our pediatric radiology services clinically, educationally and academically.”

Since joining the School of Medicine faculty in 2019 from Saint Louis University, Tao has served in various leadership roles in pediatric radiology and education, most notably as director of the pediatric imaging fellowship and co-director of the general radiology elective course for medical students.

“My vision as section chief includes increasing access to expert pediatric imaging services for children in the St. Louis region and providing state-of-the-art, quality patient care,” Tao said. “For example, we want to offer patients a more streamlined approach to imaging. The goal is to consolidate clinical and imaging appointments to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and its satellites.”

Previously, Tao was an assistant professor at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and a pediatric radiologist at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. During her five years there, she served as the director of the pediatric radiology elective and MRI safety officer.

Tao is an active member of several organizations, including the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Roentgen Ray Society and the Society of Pediatric Radiology, where she served on the cardiac imaging committee.

She earned her medical and doctoral degrees from the School of Medicine. She trained in diagnostic radiology at MIR and completed a fellowship in pediatric radiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Washington University School of Medicine’s 1,700 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, consistently ranking among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Kristina covers pediatrics, surgery, medical education and student life. In 2020, she received a gold Robert G. Fenley Writing Award for general staff writing from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and in 2019, she received the silver award. Kristina is an author and former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Los Angeles Times, where she was part of a team of journalists that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for breaking news. Additionally, she covered the 2014 Ferguson unrest for TIME magazine and, for eight years, wrote a popular parenting column for BabyCenter.com.